Recipe Source: Johnson, Margaret M. The New Irish Table. Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2003 p. 111
I'm really making an effort to eat more seasonally. There's just one problem with that: I don't actually care for a lot of late fall/ winter produce. It tends to be too sweet for me. Carrots, sweet potatoes, squash - they all seem so sweet as to be downright sickly. I remember sitting there with a relative "helpfully" trying to give me advice on losing weight and she was sitting there telling me, "Well, you should eat sweet potatoes. They'll satisfy your cravings for sweet foods and you'll lose weight because you're not eating treats." I tried explaining to her that I don't actually get sweet cravings, but it went in one ear and out the other. I'm fat, so of course I'm gorging myself on cake every day.
But I digress. The fact is that I want to eat more in keeping with the seasons, so I'm trying to find ways to make these foods in ways that don't make me want to throw up. (Was that too much description?) I generally find parsnips to be less repulsive than carrots. They're a lot more bland than carrots, but they're also a lot less repulsive. I wanted to use apples in more savory dishes as well, so I decided that this dish was a good fit for a recent Sunday open house.
I made a few changes, but you knew that I would. I used Macintosh apples because they were the oldest apples in my pantry instead of Granny Smiths, which I would have had to go purchase special for this dish. I omitted the butter because I like to try to cut out fat where I can. I used 2% milk instead of whole because that's what we keep on hand for Fearless Baby. I omitted the parsnip crisps because they didn't seem particularly exciting to me. Finally, I added 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and 1 teaspoon cinnamon to the mixture to give it a little more depth.
The result was surprisingly good. My guests seemed to enjoy it despite the fact that it kind of looked like porridge. The apple flavor came through very nicely. (I could go on a rant on how when you use local, seasonal produce it tastes like what it's supposed to be instead of like paste, but that would be a little off topic.) Resist the urge to add more spice to this dish; more of either spice would overpower the vegetables and fruit.
Potato, Parsnip and Apple Puree (serves 8; approx. $0.76/serving)
2 pounds parsnips, peeled and chopped
2 pounds baking potatoes, chopped
1/2 cup water
5 Macintosh apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 cups milk
Kosher salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Equipment:
- 2 large saucepans
- 1 medium saucepan
- Colander
- Potato masher
- Put the potatoes and parsnips in one of the large saucepans with salted water to cover.
- Bring to a boil. Cook 20 - 25 minutes or until tender. Drain and mash.
- Combine the 1/2 cup water with the apples in the medium saucepan.
- Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook over low heat 20 - 25 minutes. Drain.
- Combine the apples with the parsnip mixture in the second saucepan. Mash well with the potato masher.
- Add the milk and spices. Heat over medium heat until warmed through, continuing to mash until the mixture arrives at your desired consistency.
- Serve.
